Stop defending yourself! Quit justifying your existence, your actions, or your life’s intentions to every person you observe. We’ve got it all twisted. Sure, it’s important to explain ourselves to our family and close friends. They’re invested in our future and our failures could drag them down financially or emotionally. Everyone else, though? Who cares! Why invest your energy in the stranger that might scoff at you? All that does is lead to feeling insecure!

While painting this inconsequential accent wall, I thought about how Trishna (left) and John (right) might paint in “TheStory.” Trishna might lock her breaks, dip her roller with extension pole into a paint tray, paint one section, move, and repeat. John might then get the finer details along the corners. Since painting takes preparation, planning – and when working with others, teamwork, collaboration, and delegation of duties – how well would they handle any possible friction?

One nicety of regular fitness is that you can easily monitor your health, like a videogame health bar, so you can adjust your routines if you notice any dips. If I don’t feel like doing a rowing or yoga set, then I know something’s up. Tracking my stats, in addition to social accountability, helps me quickly identify problem areas that could be blocking progress toward building up my physical and mental tolerances toward handling stress.

“There are two types of people. The people that see something weird and figure it out, like you, and the people that see something weird and ask you to figure it out for them.[1]” The opening act haven’t (yet) figured out how to be good career performers, whereas Uriah Heep certainly did! Let’s explore vicariously through good and bad rock bands how we can exude confidence after figuring out the weird nuances of our careers.

The 5-person panel interview at the Department of Revenue was going ‘excellent’ and ‘alright’ simultaneously. Everyone flipped between either word for every answer. Jane was having trouble reading the expressions of the two potential teammates, hiring manager, and two customers when she heard the strangest interview question of her career: “If my team were a farm, what barnyard animal would you be, and why?” She’d brushed up on any applicable modern technology, but nothing agricultural.

The characters and people that inspire me have figured out parts of themselves. Whether conscious or subconscious, they know what they like, dislike, their ambitions, and how much they can realistically accomplish. Watching action heroes mow down everything in their path doesn’t inspire me because there’s no dramatic tension and release. They aren’t believable without a cool-down release period! In “TheStory,” after working toward their ambitions, how do Trishna (left) and John (right) unwind?

There’s this numbness I felt often growing up. Despite everything going well enough on the surface, underneath, there was a great weight pulling me down. Maybe it’s that warrior spirit fighting through the noise of this distracted generation. Maybe it’s the need of wanting to feel more alive than just going through these motions. It was this feeling that would cause me to drink the most heavily. This unbearable ennui. Now, let’s try something else. [80]

Instead of highlighting my favoriteTop 10of thepast 70 essays, let’s focus on how you can replicate what I’ve learned! It’s all structure and consistency. Once you’ve built a structure you can use when you have spare time to invest and have honed your discipline to remain consistent, it’s possible to succeed. Before explaining those details, here are 4 WordPress shout-outs to new subscribers, likers, and commenters: Pam Gaines, Defining Yellow, Fractured Faith Blog, and Dawn!

Resumes should be like business cards. When you receive a personalized business card that’s all cluttered, unless that’s an artist’s business card or it’s trying to portray particular skills unique to that design, how much time would you give it? Mere seconds? Whereas a business card and resume that show respect for the audience by being concise, organized and giving room to take notes could help. Especially if they only have one minute to review.

Fitness isn’t universal. What works for me might not work for you. Within 6 months, I should return to my former apex of rowing hour-long sets, which is not something most people would enjoy. Instead of being frustrated over not being able to do that, focus on what you can do with what you have, for your intended results. I see rowing as a tool that can help me do what I want: more universal tasks.